JR: OREST A&M BAY SMU TOL EMU ASU ULL ARK ALA KC CLE BUF SEA SD
JG: FSU MN IND MICH NW KST KAN USC FLA LSU KC CLE TB NYG CHI
MR: OHIOST A&M TEX USC ORE FLA LSU ARK OLE TN NO ATL NYJ NE GB
AW: MARY MN MICH NEB TT UCF ARMY KENT OLE KC BUF SEA SD TEN PIT
GR: MICH TEX OKST OK ND TEM USC ORE LSU KC BUF PIT GB SF PHI
MH: MSU OHIOST IOWA WIS NEB BAY PITT NAVY ND UTAH ATL WAS TEN GB BAL
MC: SOMISS HOU KENT TOL EMU OHIO AKR ULL FIU UTST BUF SEA CLE TB NYG
SS: VIR WIS TEX OKST WV RICE NAVY TOL EMU LSU KC ATL NYJ WAS OAK
RO: NEB TEX OK ISU TCU BOISE UTAH OLE FLA ALA ATL BUF TB PIT TEN
TN: NW IOWA BAY CIN HOU COL ALA ARK VAN NMST OAK GB SF NE CHI
MT: MICH MN OK OKST ORE ARK OLE LSU GB SF BUF PIT TEN KC CLE
GT: MN NW OK OKST HOU BOISE ORE ARK SF TB NYJ SEA SD DEN ARI
MS: x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
CP: IOWA TEX MIZZ HOU TOL ORE ASU AZ LSU TN SEA GB BUF MIA IND
LW: MN WIS WY SDST LSU GB BUF IND PIT KC NE PHI NO HOU DAL
JH: MICH NEB MSU KST HOU USC STAN ARK ALA HAW GB NE NO HOU ATL
MO: VIR KST HOU TULSA MIAOH WY STAN ULL ARKST OLE ATL DAL MIA SF NYJ
POPULAR PICKS
At least 5 guys on each of these...
MN 5:1
TEX 5:1
MICH 5:2
OLE 5:0
HOU 6:0
ARK 6:0
LSU 7:4
ORE 5:0
KC 7:2
ATL 5:2
BUF 8:4
SF 5:1
SEA 5:2
GB 7:3
PIT 5:0
So at the rate we've been going, I'm guessing those are the plays you should make if you want to be in the red for the weekend. I have 4 of them...good sign?
Most teams have about 4 games left counting this week, so I will be looking at some of the conference races from here on out. First up, ROTEL and BARBASOL (also known as the Legends and Leaders).
IND (+28.5) at OHIOST
I know OHIOST is playing better, but to be giving 28.5 with an offense that really can't throw the football at all? Not to mention the fact that they are coming off the big WIS win and IND is coming off a beatdown at home vs. a bad NW team. It will probably be close to the number, but I'll say 27-7 OHIOST.
MICH at IOWA (+4)
The Captain has some 'splaining to do...
Assuming he still has his job on Saturday, Ferentz will likely lead his club to a win over MICH. This MICH club really hasn't proven much to me besides their freaky strange win over ND. Iowa is good at home and winless on the road and pigless for another year. Off their poor performance last weekend, I think they come out and win this one before losing their last 3. The only scary part, which I will be cheering for on Saturday, is Robinson vs. the Iowa D. Running QB's have always crushed the Ferentz defenses, and this guy is the ultimate running QB. He could turn the tide and provide the first quality B10 win for MICH. Best case scenario, MICH wins 31-28 with an Iowa cover.
PUR at WIS (-26)
Badger fans can put the gameday cruiser away for this weekend as they FINALLY get to play at home. Such BS scheduling by the B10, I can't believe they had to play on the road 2x in OCT on back to back weeks. So from the sound of it, WIS fans have pretty much cashed in their chips and called it a year at this point. But let's be logical here, it's PUR coming to town and WIS might be ready to unload on someone. I think WIS winning 66-14 is a reasonable guess.
NW at NEB (-18)
NW might have the worst defense in the league. Their offense is solid, but NEB might run for 500 yards against them this week. I feel like the Huskers are catching a little fire lately, and they may ride it to a Barbasol division title. I like NEB in this one 45-23.
GOPHERS at SPARTY (-28.5)
I stayed away from this one this week, which means I don't like the Gophs. I'm still coming down from the high of last weekend, so I can only imagine how the squad is feeling at this point. Sparty got their teeth kicked in at Lincoln, and they have to be ready to rebound on Saturday. Sparty has a very managable schedule the rest of the way, and they just need to hope for another NEB stumble. Maybe the Gophs caught a little confidence off of last week's win and hopefully can play a quality game to make it watchable, but the letdown factor is way too high for the Gophers right now and it likely will be over early. SPARTY crushes 41-10.
My PSU and NEB picks are still looking very strong. NEB has a couple of tough road games left and the Black Friday game with the southerners, but I think I'll take my chances on these two at this point.
POSSIBLE UPSETS?
5 games that I think might be more interesting than Vegas does...
NC at NCST (+4)
Rivalry game and a home dog...that's a combo I love right off the bat. Carolina comes in off a beatdown of WF and NCST just got smoked by FSU. NC has a young QB on the road...I'll call the upset for the 'Pack...24-21.
KAN (+13) at ISU
Kansas is terrible, so I didn't include this in my picks. But this is quite a letdown spot for ISU after going into Lubbock and winning 41-7. KAN has been getting pushed around by everyone they play, so taking them on the road is a scary idea. But they have performed so poorly that I think they are a little undervalued at this point. Both teams can't score, so anything could happen in this one. I'll say ISU wins a squeaker 24-23.
ND at WF (+13.5)
Wake is not a bad club. My numbers have them as only a 6 point dog in this one, so getting a full TD over that makes it look like a good play to me. ND's turnover issues seem to make them always a risky play. If they would be better with the ball they could be undefeated this year. Wake was crushed by NC last week, so at home at night I think they'll be in for a better performance. ND has not been stellar on the road this year, and giving this many to a quality team doesn't make sense. I'm sure it will come down to turnovers, if WF can force them they can win, if they don't they could get blown out. Odds are that they will be able to force a few...WF shocks ND 27-23.
STAN at OREST (+21.5)
I've been picking against STAN for most of the year because I just don't think they are nearly as good as they been playing. It finally paid off last week with USC, but barely. OREST has been totally unpredictable this year, but they historically tough at home and as a big dog. STAN is coming down off the USC emotional win and looking ahead to their game with ORE next week, so this one looks like a flyover for them. I don't think the Beavers will do enough to win, but I think they'll make STAN sweat and probably be alive in the 2nd half. STAN wins 38-28.
VAN (+11.5) at FLA
Vandy is only 1-4 in the SEC, but nearly neat GEO and ARK. Both of those games were at home, but I'm starting to think this Vandy club might be improving a bit. Hear that G-Reg?!? Your guys might be on their way up!! The Gators have dropped 4 in a row and are an offensive mess right now. They've scored 47 points combined in their last 4 games. Granted, it's been the cream of the crop in the SEC, but it's still under 12 ppg which is pathetic. I'll take the better trending team and a good defense getting 11.5...GATORS win a close one 19-16.
BIG GAMES
A&M (+14.5) at OK
Aggies are coming off a bad loss to MIZZOU at home last week and OK just got done crushing KST. Last week was the worst game the Aggies have played, so I think their talent is too much to not expect a rebound performance here. Sooners at home are looking to start a new streak, so they might have some juice going as well. It's a risky pick, but I'll take the Aggies to cover...SOONERS win 38-28.
SC at ARK (-6)
SC on the road and without most of their best players...yuck. Both are 7-1 and highly ranked, but SC is not the same team that was playing well earlier this year. They've only scored 14 ppg in their last 2 road games. You know ARK will score on anyone this side of ALA and LSU, so I think giving less than a TD looks like a layup in this one. ARK's trend scares me, they haven't played well vs. OLE or VAN the last 2 weeks, but those are tough games to get up for as an elite team with bigger things on the horizon. Hogs roll 27-10.
KST at OKST (-20.5)
It's the Cowboys...you should always pick them. They've covered 7 in a row and KST had their bubble burst last week against the other OK team. COWBOYS 58-27.
ORE (-14.5) at WASH
Not really sure which way to go on this one, but I'll take the Ducks. Washington is still a big mystery to me, and I don't know if they have the speed to keep up with the Ducks. DUCKS 49-31.
LSU at ALA (-4)
This is the big one. Two unreal defenses, 2 great coaches, 2 great running games. It's not the end all be all for the National Title, because each team has a couple of obstacles left, but it will go a long way in determining who takes the hardware this year. ALA is allowing 6.8 ppg this year. That is ridiculous. I rate ALA as having a better offense than LSU and a better defense and they rely less on turnovers than Les does. LSU has been crushing the spreads this year, so I think their numbers are a bit inflated and they might be getting a little too much credit in this one. Plus most of the world is on the LSU side in this one...so I LOVE ALABAMA. These hyped games typically aren't as close as you'd think, so I think ALA wins by double digits...TIDE 23-10.
That's all for this week - the family is heading out of town tonight and all day Saturday so I might be watching a crazy Vegas-Amount of games on Saturday. Enjoy the weekend!!
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